What Will Alexandre Lacazette Bring To Arsenal?

With Alexandre Lacazette finally completing a £52 million move to Arsenal – I’m here to tell you why he is the real deal for the North London side.

I’ll give you four clear reasons why he is a top striker and how he will help Arsenal.

CONVERSION RATE

From all of Europes top five leagues, Lacazette has got the best conversion ratio, with 28% of his shots finding the back of the net.

This is more than Barcelona’s Luis Suarez(25%) and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (23%).

This highlights why Arsenal forked out a club record fee for the Frenchman as in the Premier League, just one chance can define the outcome of the game.

TYPES OF GOALS

One of the primary assets the Frenchman brings is the fact that he just doesn’t score tap-ins.

He scored 37 goals last season for Lyon in just 45 games. 21 of these goals coming from his favoured right foot, with a further 10 with his left and six with his head.

Many of these goals came from outside the box, showing his ability to conjure up a chance out of very little.

The forward also scored five free kicks and took penalties.

Many of his strikes show his pace with him beating the defender to the ball and then slotting home, while others show him being the goal poacher in the box or using a piece of skill to get past a defender.

MORE THAN A GOAL SCORER

If there’s one thing all Arsenal fans love, it’s a striker who will work hard for the team when not in possession.

We see this first hand with the love of Alexis Sanchez compared to the arrogance of Olivier Giroud.

Lacazettes quick mindset and desire forces him to defend from the front, helping the team all around the pitch.

He often pops up behind defenders and pinches the ball from their grasp, pushing his whole team higher up the pitch.

He is also a good passer of the football, registering six assists last season with a 76% pass completion rate.

This would be particularly useful for Arsene Wenger if he decides to go with two up front next season, or maybe dropping him into a number 10 role behind the striker.

BRINGING PACE TO THE ATTACK

With Giroud starting most games last season and Theo Walcott struggling, it left Arsenal with a pretty slow forward line.

The front four of Sanchez, Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain didn’t quite find that cutting edge when the going got tough.

In my opinion, one of the reasons Arsenal have struggled even since the departure of Thierry Henry is because they’ve always had the same type of striker.

One that can put the ball away but not completely change a game with pace.

Robin Van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, and Marouane Chamakh all relied on other assets other than pace.

Lacazette will not just bring that clinical prowess but also a fast option.

It’s always good to have different types of strikers, especially in the Premier League where there are many different styles of opponents.

Lacazette could be the one grabbing the three points against the high line of Manchester City or Spurs, whereas Giroud aerial ability will help against sides such as West Brom and Stoke.